Dussehra might be a festival where good wins a grand victory over evil, but for most Indian foodies, it is also an occasion to celebrate good food. For Ahmedabad-based foodies, colloquially called Amdavadis, Dussehra 2023 was just such an occasion to splurge on favourite foods and reports suggest that they did so by indulging in 17 lakh kilos of Fafda-Jalebi on that occasion.
According to a report, Ahmedabad foodies formed long queues and ordered in from farsaan shops across the city to get a taste of the local favourite Fafda-Jalebi. This enthusiasm to indulge in the flavours of Fafda-Jalebi was witnessed despite a 10% increase in food prices and excessive crowding at farsaan shops and stores due to the Navratri and Garba celebrations.
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Estimates suggest that the city of Ahmedabad sold 17 lakh kilos of Fafda-Jalebi on Dussehra 2023 with an estimated total sale worth Rs 175 crore. So crazy was the demand for Fafda-Jalebi that many residents had to either wait in line for hours or were given promissory tokens by store owners guaranteeing they will be given boxes of the popular snack combination after a few hours.
Did this rise in demand also cause concerns for farsaan sellers? Of course, says the report by TOI. The report states that shop owners kept running out of raw materials after people started lining up for Fafda-Jalebi from 6AM in the morning. However, with customers waiting patiently, things went smoothly and many shop owners were able to increase the prices by around 10% seeing the rise in demand. After the price surge, Fafda was being sold across Ahmedabad at Rs 750-Rs 1,300 per kilo, while Jalebi prices went up from Rs 900 to Rs 1,000 per kilo. Despite the price rise, the sales for Fafda-Jalebi continued to rise throughout Dussehra.
For those unaware, Fafda-Jalebi is a popular snack from Gujarat that is sold across the state as a form of Farsaan or snack. Fafda is made of gram flour and mild spices. The dough of the dish is rolled out thinly, deep-fried and then served with a papaya-based dip called Sambharo. Jalebi, on the other hand, is a popular sweet dish consumed across India. In Gujarat however, people consume Fafda and Jalebi together because the both provide a savoury-sweet contrast despite being crispy. On festivals like Dussehra, eating Fafda-Jalebi is a beloved tradition across the state, hence the heavy demand for the same.